Peek Back at Ali's Wedding Journey

From the Bride... Oh my! It's hard to put into words how grateful I am as I look back at these photos. I'm so happy that I finally get to share a glimpse into our wedding day with you all. When trying to describe this special day, I can't seem to find a better word than “perfect,” because y'all, it was absolutely PERFECT! A day I've pictured forever became a reality and I married the man of my dreams!

The inspiration for our wedding day was to create a romantic and comfortable oasis with a touch of Kentucky charm. For many of our guests, it was their first time to visit the bluegrass state, so we wanted to showcase the beautiful landscape of my hometown. Besides the elements of green from the scenery and rustic accents from the barn, I wanted everything else to be white. Everything from the stunning Jenny Yoo bridesmaid dresses to the flowers falling from the ceiling fit perfectly into my vision. I wanted it to feel like you walked into a little slice of heaven.

For me, I had a clear vision for what I wanted our day to be. That being said, wedding planning still had its ups and downs. Planning an event for hundreds of people is no joke and there are a lot of moving parts. I'm so grateful I had the support of my amazing family, especially my mom, who was on the ground and acted as our eyes and ears as we planned the wedding from Texas. For those of you who are currently planning, my biggest piece of advice would be to continually remind yourself what this day is truly about. When you start to feel stressed or frustrated, remember the most important part of the day is that your surrounded by the people you love. Anything you hoped to do but can't for one reason or another will not be noticed and everything that you can do is truly just icing on the cake!

It should come as no surprise that one of my favorite parts of wedding planning was designing and creating my dream dress alongside Nardos Design. After two full days of dress shopping I had found a few dresses I liked, but still didn't have the feeling that I'd found the one. After just minutes of talking to Nardos, she sketched up my vision, combining my favorite aspects of the other dresses into one amazing dress that just felt right. The reason I loved my dress so much was that it was truly three dresses in one. With the detachable skirt, it could go from having the most stunning train to a bustled ball gown to the perfect little column dress to dance the night away. From sketching up the design to picking out the perfect fabric to match my bridesmaids’ dresses, the process was so fun and truly a once in a lifetime experience.

I remember waking up the morning of the wedding and feeling a calmness I can't explain. The impending thunderstorms on the forecast couldn't even break my mood. By noon, it was our final opportunity to decide if we'd move the ceremony inside the Keeneland clubhouse or take a chance with the weather and do the ceremony outside like I'd always imagined. We had to take our chances! Getting ready with all my girls at the home I grew up in was exactly what I had wanted for the morning of. We were relaxed and comfortable as we all got dolled up.

Mother Nature had our back because the morning rain cleared and it turned into the most beautiful sunny afternoon. The ceremony and reception were beautiful, fun, and all that we had imagined. But boy did it go by fast! That being said, Ben and I made a point during the reception to take a step back to take it all in and remember that while this night may have flown by, our love will last for the rest of our lives!